Latter Prophets

Scope and Arrangement

The Hebrew Bible of Judaism is divided into three parts: the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim). The Prophets are further divided into the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets are books that narrate the history of Israel, such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The Latter Prophets are books compiled chiefly from the words delivered by the prophets, that is, oracles (messages conveying the will of God). In Hebrew they are called Nevi'im Aharonim; aharonim means "latter" or "later."

The Latter Prophets are counted as four books:

• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel
• The Twelve Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In Jewish tradition these twelve books were written together on a single scroll and counted as one book.

"Former" and "Latter" refer to the order in which the books are arranged, not to whether they were written earlier or later.

Background

The prophets of these books are generally thought to have been active from about the eighth to the fifth century BC. By period, they may be grouped as follows:

• Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah: the period when Assyria was at the height of its power
• Jeremiah and others: the period when Judah fell to Babylon
• Ezekiel: the period of the Babylonian exile
• Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi: after the return from exile

Some books, such as Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah, are difficult to date, and scholars differ on when they were written. Their content falls mainly into three strands: proclamations of judgment against Israel and Judah for breaking the covenant, oracles concerning the surrounding nations, and promises of restoration after judgment and concerning the remnant.

Differences from the Protestant Old Testament

The Protestant Old Testament follows the arrangement of the Septuagint tradition. It groups the seventeen books from Isaiah through Malachi as the prophetic books and divides them by length into the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and the Minor Prophets (Hosea through Malachi). In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations and Daniel belong to the Writings and are therefore not included among the Latter Prophets. In addition, Protestants classify Joshua through Kings as historical books.

Use in the New Testament

The New Testament refers to the Old Testament as "the law, or the prophets" (Matthew 5:17) and as what is written "in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms" (Luke 24:44), and it frequently quotes passages from the Latter Prophets.

• Isaiah 7:14 is quoted in the account of Jesus' birth (Matthew 1:22-23).
• The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 is associated with the passion of Christ.
• The new covenant of Jeremiah 31 is quoted at length in Hebrews 8.
• Joel 2 is cited in Peter's sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21).
• Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11.

Interpretation and Issues

• Authorship and redaction: Traditionally, each book is held to have been written by the prophet named in its title. Historical criticism holds that the books took shape through a long process of editing; for example, it regards Isaiah 40 onward as the work of a different author writing from the time of the exile onward.
• Fulfillment of prophecy: Christian tradition reads the messianic prophecies as fulfilled in Christ, while Judaism interprets the same texts differently. Within Christianity, too, views differ on how to understand the prophecies of Israel's restoration. Covenant theology generally reads them as promises that carry over to the church, while dispensationalism tends to read them as promises to be fulfilled in the future of ethnic Israel.

In the Korean Church

The term "Latter Prophets" is used mainly in academic settings, such as Old Testament introduction courses at seminaries. In preaching and Bible study, the division into "Major Prophets" and "Minor Prophets" is more familiar.